Consumer Reports: Consumers Can't Wait Any Longer...

[OneGrassRoot]

More than 70 years ago, Consumers Union, the independent nonprofit organization that publishes Consumer Reports, called for affordable, reliable health care for all Americans.

Today—after decades of failed proposals, broken promises, and political rancor—our nation is the closest it has ever been to answering that call.

Reform proposals have passed both chambers of Congress by a majority vote; now they effectively await final passage. Reform will make sure you can get reliable, affordable health coverage if you’re sick, lose your job, or hit a rough financial patch. It will provide much-needed oversight of the insurance industry, spur competition, and change the way insurance companies do business. It won’t add to our deficit and will help cut wasteful spending in the health-care industry.

A lot of people, especially those who already have good insurance, are unsure how the agreed-upon proposals in Congress would benefit them. The package of reform proposals isn't perfect and it won't solve all the problems in our nation's broken health-care system. But the reforms under consideration would go a long way toward achieving the goal of affordable, reliable health care for all Americans. So let me identify the key benefits consumers would get from health-reform legislation passed to date:

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/health/2010/03/health-reform-ad-consumers-union-to-launch-ad-campaign-for-health-reform-jim-guest.html?EXTKEY=I91CONL&CMP=OTC-ConsumeristRSS

[NJmaverick]

1. WOW! That is an impressive endorsement

I don't recall them ever getting involved like this

[zipplewrath]

2. My two quibbles

First, this bill doesn't really "go a long way toward achieving the goal of affordable, reliable health care for all Americans" It works towards affordable health INSURANCE. There is little concrete here that assures affordable health CARE.

And secondly, contrast and compare the specificity of the list on health INSURANCE reforms with this paragraph:


It’s also vital that we get control of spiraling health costs. Over the past 10 years, most families’ health insurance bills have more than doubled—and if nothing is done to rein in costs, your premiums will double again in another 10 years. To address this there are a host of new efforts designed to improve health-care quality, improve care coordination, and provide incentives for hospitals to reduce health-care-associated infections. There are new incentives for hospitals and doctors to come together to form organizations that can offer "soup to nuts" integrated care. In time, these efforts to improve health-care quality should also lower the underlying cost of health care.

Specific health insurance reforms listed, and then this bit of vaporware on health care COST reform. Their entire list suggests that the vague reforms "should also lower the underlying cost of health care." No bulletized list, as we saw with insurance, of the specific changes they would make, when, or whom they would benefit. It's one big "trust me, the market will make it better" promise. Yeah, and NAFTA was going to improve things too.

[4_TN_TITANS]

4. Well said...

This bill is a last ditch effort to salvage the INSURANCE aspect of healthcare. I agree that given our economic situation, it's not viable to completely pull the rug out from under the the health insurance industry and the hundreds of thousands of people currently depending on it's existence for income.

[depakid]

3. Toyota Prius Keeps Consumer Reports Nod After Recall

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-23/toyota-prius-keeps-consumer-reports-nod-after-recall-update1-.html

[Tutankhamun]

5. The article makes the legislation sound like a huge, unequivocal victory.

This begs the question: Does Consumer Reports have financial ties to the insurance industry or are they simply mistaken?